


A Scarecrow in the Storm

by NoBirdWithintheCage



Series: A Scarecrow in the Storm [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Cute, F/M, Fluff, Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-05
Updated: 2015-06-05
Packaged: 2018-04-02 23:15:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4077484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoBirdWithintheCage/pseuds/NoBirdWithintheCage
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kakashi Joins ANBU after losing his teammates and begins guarding Kushina through her pregnancy. It's meant to be a quiet mission to give the young Jounin time to recover, but what happens when Kushina agrees to babysit a six year old girl that just won't leave Kakashi alone? Her name is Arashi. She is one of the most spoiled children in Konoha and is determined to be his "fwend."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Promise

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally posted on fanfiction.net on my account there. I thought I would spread the fic around a little more and what I post here may end up being edited a little better.
> 
> For anyone just now reading this, I promise it isn't as fluffy in part 2.

Chapter 1: The Promise

It was a beautiful day in Konohagakure. It was warm, but the breeze was cool enough to be pleasant. The streets were bustling with people rushing back and forth to do their business. Their voices mingled together in a peaceful drone. The third great ninja war had ended recently and even though there was mourning, the people also had a heightened taste for life. Their world was no longer turned upside down.

A small girl walked by a Jounin's side, completely unaffected by war or grief. She peered up at the crowds of people and the buildings all around them with brown eyes that looked proportionately too big for her face. Something about the haphazard way that the buildings were erected on top of each other made her feel more at home. The city was like a jigsaw puzzle that was never put together all the way and the people that occupied Konohagakure reflected it in some way.

She could feel it.

It was like sparks of life burning all around her. When she closed her eyes and focused on it she would get lost in the rhythm of their existence. They were all flames dancing in between the forest's trees, hidden away from the world by the expanse of green. The little girl remembered describing the sensations that haunted her to her parents and their response left her puzzled.

Sensor type.

She was not sure what exactly that meant. Her father had given her reading material on the subject, but everything she read was dry. None of the information scribbled on paper captured what it was like for her, so she wondered if she really was what her parents said she was.

"Arashi-chan, do you want to become a medical ninja like your father?"

The young girl looked up at her father and pouted, "Of course, daddy, why wouldn't I? You help fix people and I wanna fix people, too."

The Jounin laughed. Her pout twisted into a grin. He always sounded like a lion when he laughed like that. The sound never failed to usher away her fears, doubts, and insecurities. The little girl wrapped her fingers around his thumb and marveled at how big his hand was compared to hers. He was a man of average height and build. His hair was black and his eyes were brown. His skin was pale from the amount of time he spent indoors with patients.

"Now, sweetheart, do you remember who we're visiting today?"

"Kushina-san!" She chirped.

"Do you remember what else we went over?"

She looked up at him and tilted her head to one side, "Don't wipe my nose on my sleeve?"

Ookami smothered a laugh behind a hand.

"Well, that, too," he admitted. "You have to be on your best behavior, okay?"

She nodded.

"And what else?"

"It's our secret!" She proclaimed.

"That's right." He winked at her. "It'll be between us and our new friends."

~~

Ookami knocked on the door and waited for a few moments. Arashi planted herself behind her father and played with the hem of her shirt. There was something inside the apartment that made her uncomfortable. It was not imminent, but it was there – almost like a secret tucked away inside something else – and although the little girl loved secrets, this one made her want to hide.

Arashi heard the door open and in spite of her curiosity, she chose to stare at her feet instead of seeing this Kushina person.

"Hey, Ookami-san!" a woman's voice greeted.

"Good morning, Kushina-san. I've brought Arashi-chan with me today."

Her father stepped to the side, effectively blowing the little girl's cover. Her fingers clutched the end of her shirt and she swallowed over a lump in her throat. Red hair caught her attention as the woman knelt in front of her and grinned from one ear to the other.

"Hey, Arashi-chan. I'm Kushina. Your dad's told me all about you, you know!"

She looked down at her shirt and hid behind a curtain of her brown hair.

"Erm," Ookami cleared his throat, "She's not usually shy!"

Kushina waved it off and allowed her two guests inside. Arashi's eyes darted from one place to the other, taking in each detail. The home was quaint, but there was a comfortable feeling about it. On the walls there were several pictures of Kushina and Minato – the Fourth Hokage. A feeling of wonder flooded through her at the idea of being in the Hokage's home and being near his wife. She sat on the couch and looked at some scrolls spread out on a small table in front of her.

Something about the way that the ink strokes met together to form words and symbols resonated with her. She focused on one of the smaller scrolls. It was the easiest one for her to handle because of its size. Her fingers traced every line until they found the Uzumaki Clan symbol in the center.

In the kitchen, the two adults were oblivious to the girl's fascination.

"I'm so thankful that you've been so nice, you know." Kushina laughed. "I couldn't have asked for a better doctor!"

"What are friends for?" He rubbed his chin. "Besides, don't thank me yet. My little Arashi's a good girl, but any child is a handful. With my wife being so busy with her business and the hospital needing me so much, a babysitter is pretty much a requirement." He leaned in and whispered, "I'm afraid that if she's at Naomi's Salon all the time that she'll pick up some bad habits."

"It's no problem at all!" The words rushed out of her in an excited jumble, "I like that, you know! I need more experience with young children. I mean, it's not like she's a newborn, but from what I've heard it'll be no time until my baby is her age, you know!"

In the living room Arashi had just finished pouring over the rest of the scrolls and was now inspecting the window. Underneath it, she could feel someone's signature. It coursed through that person like an electrical current. That was nothing new for her. She had felt many like that, but mostly she ran into the more fire-like ones or those that were as steadfast as the earth or even the ones that flowed like water.

She leaned against the window and bit her lip. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end when she focused on it, but there was an undercurrent that made her feel uneasy. Most signatures were livelier. This one seemed cold and sad.

With a nod, she decided on what she was going to do. A game of hide and seek would be more fun than listening to two adults talk and she could possibly find this person on the way.

She threw a glance toward the kitchen to make sure the adults were not paying attention and opened the window. It would not latch, so after struggling for a moment under the weight she slipped out. The little girl was proud that she remembered to ease it shut once she was on the other side so that it did not slam and alert her father.

The signature moved away, but she was determined. It only took a few moments for her to find the person she was looking for.

It was a member of ANBU. His body was wrapped in a black cloak and a mask that resembled a dog hid his face.

Despite her status as a child, she had enough sense to know that the ANBU were only involved in serious stuff. Her parents had explained to her that she should always be very respectful and give any members of that organization their space. If they needed her to do anything, she was to comply. They had dodged her questions about exactly what ANBU does, but she figured it was on the side of gruesome.

Everything in her told her that she should turn around and pretend she never started this adventure, but it was boring inside. She wanted to talk to this person. Besides, maybe this ninja could help make her game more interesting.

"Hey, can you help me hide? Every time I play with my daddy, he finds me right away. It's not fair."

"Sorry, but I'm busy," a male voice that was just hitting puberty replied.

He was young. That detail made Arashi feel bolder. She walked closer and stopped directly in front of him with her hands on her hips.

"Please?"

"No."

She pouted and used her most pitiful expression – the one that her dad always gave into – and asked, "Pretty please? You're a ninja. Can't you help me w-w-really quick?"

He hesitated for only a second, "No."

She stared at him for a moment. Her child-like reasoning was having a hard time accepting that her trump card had failed. Finally, she sighed in defeat and hugged him.

He froze, "Wh-what are you doing?"

"You felt cold like you're sad. I'm trying to warm you up like my mommy before she went away." She pressed in closer and patted his back with a hand, "Don't tell daddy I'm really not his daughter."

He stiffly pat her back and removed himself from her grasp, "I won't tell."

"Okay!" She beamed at him, "I don't want him to be sad if he finds out."

The boy snorted, "I'm sure he would be fine."

She giggled and played with the hem of her shirt. She could feel his eyes boring into her, even if she could not see his face.

"ANBU-san, are you sure you're okay?"

"Go back inside."

His voice cracked on the last word. Frustration wafted off him like an aura. Despite his order for her to leave him alone, she stood her ground.

"I've met people who are sad like you," the young girl commented, "My mommy told me that it was sometimes because their fwe-fwe-FRiends passed away as heroes and went to heaven to wait for them."

The young ANBU's shoulder's stiffened, but he did not reply.

"If that's what happened, I'm sorry. I still miss my first mommy, sometimes. I don't we-REmember what she looked like." She pursed her lips in concentration. "She had red hair, like Kushina-san. Such," she paused, "PRetty hair."

A tense silence filled the space around them.

She hummed to herself and wrapped her tiny pinky around his, "Oh, hey! I have an idea! I'm going to be a medical ninja like my daddy so I can help people feel better, so! Uh," she waved her free hand around to narrate what she was saying, "I pwo-promise that I'll be your friend and live until I'm old and wrinkly, then maybe we can go to heaven together and meet any of our friends that went there first?"

"You're just a little kid. You can't make promises like that." He scolded her.

"Uh huh! I just did!" She stood and held their joined pinkies into the air. "See! I'm your fw-friend until I'm old and wrinkly!"

From inside they heard Kushina and Ookami calling for Arashi. The little girl pulled her finger away from the boy and looked around. Upon seeing that there were no good places to hide, she began to panic. When she began to panic, she began to bounce in one spot and chew on her lip.

The ANBU sighed and poofed away with a shunshin jutsu.

Arashi blinked and glared up at the roof, a betrayed expression on her face. A person's shadow swept over her and she turned with wide eyes to look up at her father. He leaned down toward her and frowned. She was in trouble.

"Didn't we agree that you'd be a good girl today?" His tone was stern.

"You found me!" Arashi cried out dramatically, "You always find me, daddy!"

His frown deepened, "Arashi."

She was really in trouble this time. Her mind raced for some sort of excuse – some way to get out of this. There was no way she could escape. The alleyway was narrow and she could not hope to run from her father. Besides, that would only mean the punishment later would be worse; much, much worse. She thought about trying to pout her way out of trouble, but that trick had failed against ANBU-san. At a loss, she did the first thing that came to mind.

She broke down in a fit of tears.

Ran Ookami was a hardened, seasoned shinobi. He had outlived the other members of his Genin squad and his life was full of gruesome events. He spent as much time at the hospital caring for wounded ninja as he did at home with his wife and daughter. Ookami had seen more than his share of heartbreak, loss, and pain, but as he watched his daughter wail his weathered mask cracked. The seasoned shinobi went to his knees and gathered the girl in his arms with whispered words of comfort passing his lips like a mantra.

Arashi sniffled and shot a victorious grin up toward the ANBU that was watching her from the rooftop. His shoulders drooped as if in disbelief at what he witnessed.

After Ookami got his daughter to calm down, he left to tend to his duties at the hospital. Kushina, in turn started trying to figure out how she was supposed to entertain her charge. Only when she was alone with the child did she realize how at a loss she was. Children were like another race.

Kushina brought out some crayons and a coloring book that she bought in preparation for this scenario. The woman looked at the table, but decided the floor would offer more room. Arashi joined her and settled on her stomach while she decided on which crayons she wanted to use. Coloring was only fun for the first ten minutes and they lost interest at the same time. It was obvious to the woman in a painful way that the girl was uncomfortable around her.

"So, we could go to the park to play, you know!" Kushina offered.

The girl pursed her lips, "No. There's always a boy there that puts bugs on me and I don't like him."

"Why does he put bugs on you?" Kushina grinned. "Does he like you?"

"No. He says he likes to make me cry." The little girl ground her teeth. "Also, there's another boy that always paints on me and my mommy gets mad 'cause it's hard to get off."

"Oh. Do they bully you? You should never let anyone bully you, you know!"

Arashi's eyebrows knit together and she pinned the woman with an intense look. Kushina blinked and returned the stare. For a second, the Red Hot Habanero was unnerved, but she quickly recovered. She was scared of little and the girl sprawled on her stomach was far from intimidating. Kushina's eye twitched when she realized that the girl was not even looking at her but was instead looking through her at something.

Arashi blinked and focused on Kushina's twitching eye, "I don't let anyone bully me. I want to be a ninja someday and a ninja can't be afraid of two stupid boys."

"Ohh, so you want to be a ninja like your father? He said you are already enrolled in the Academy. Are you liking it?"

"Mhm." She nodded and pointed toward the scrolls on the table. "What do those do?"

"Have you learned any about Fuinjutsu?"

She shook her head, "Only a little."

"Do you want to learn?"

A smile lit up the girl's face.

Kushina was not the best teacher and she was at a loss about how to explain certain things to the girl, but Arashi was fixated on the scrolls in front of her. The woman was happy that she finally found something to keep the girl occupied for more than a few minutes.

"Say, Arashi-chan, I bet we can get those two boys back really good if you want, you know."

Arashi decided that Kushina was the coolest adult she had ever met, despite the scary secret she was hiding.


	2. An Umbrella

Chapter 2: An Umbrella

Arashi stared forward and pinched her right arm in intervals. On the chalkboard was a watered down explanation of chakra and the different seals used to mold and manipulate it. Their Sensei had already been over the subject several times that week, so she assumed this was a review before a test. Beside her a classmate struggled to not fall asleep. His head bobbed several times and then he snapped awake for a few moments before the bobbing continued. She shared his sentiment.

It was not that Hibiki Sensei was a bad teacher, but his voice was monotone and when he spoke at length it had a similar effect to white noise on the class.

When it was time for her to leave, she tucked her notebooks away, double checked to make sure she had all of her kunai and shuriken – she was proud of them, even if they were blunted to ease her mother's worries - and pulled her pack over her shoulders. She threw a final look toward the review on the chalkboard and rushed outside with the rest of the children. Some of them went to their parents, whereas others walked home on their own. She scanned the small group of adults for either her mother or her father and found that they were not there.

A feeling of dread settled in her stomach.

She knew that they were both working, but had hoped that one of them would manage to find the time to walk with her. She chewed on her lip and kicked at some pebbles on the ground with her sandals. The last time she was allowed to walk herself home she had gotten lost. Someone helped her and she made it within a reasonable amount of time, but the shock of not knowing where to go left a bad taste in her mouth.

Arashi was terrible at remembering directions.

One look up at the sky revealed that it was going to rain anytime and that revelation only served to twist her stomach into a knot. Not only was she going to be lost, but she was going to be lost in a storm.

"Hey!" A voice whispered right by her ear.

She jumped and squealed. When she spun around to see who it was, she was welcomed by red hair and a grin that spanned from one ear to the other. The woman straightened to her full height and laughed, not so subtly pointing a finger at the girl.

"Did I scare ya?"

"A little," her face burned, "Wh-why are you here, Kushina-san?"

"You're staying with me for a little while this evening, Arashi-chan. I thought I'd make sure you knew where to go."

Arashi quickly forgot her embarrassment. Kushina had just saved her from being lost in the city until someone took pity on her and pointed her in the right direction. The girl latched onto the woman's hand with a vice-like grip.

As they walked away from the Academy, Arashi watched the woman with a deepening interest. Her signature was one of the strongest she had ever been near and it was pleasant, but there was definitely something else hiding inside. The girl could not put her finger on it, but it made her uneasy.

The kunoichi's eye twitched and she stared back at the girl, "It's rude to stare, you know!"

"Uhh," Arashi quickly thought of an excuse, "You have such pw-Pretty hair! You're very pw-pw-pretty!"

The woman blinked and a flattered smile curved her lips, "Thank you, Arashi-chan. You're pretty, too."

With her free hand she played with the hem of her shirt and looked at her feet to feign embarrassment. Arashi knew she was pretty – her mother told her that she was all the time – but she was convinced that she was supposed to act like she did not believe it. She waited until Kushina was focused on looking at the sky to grin in victory.

Nearby she felt a signature that she recognized. ANBU-san was nearby. Her eyes widened and she looked around, but she could not see him.

"What are you looking for, Arashi-chan?"

"Nothing," she lied.

"Hmm, if you say so." Kushina shrugged. "Do you like cake?"

Her eyes widened, "Cake?"

"Mhm. Cake. I figured we could eat and then I'd bake a cake."

"You're a genius, Kushina-san!"

The girl skipped all the way to Kushina's home and the woman was proud every step of the way. Perhaps caring for a child was not going to be as hard as she first thought.

 

~~~~

Arashi looked over her notes and muttered under her breath as she reviewed what they had been over in class for the week. As soon as her eyes fell on the section about genjutsu she groaned into her hands. She understood the subject inside and out, but for the life of her she could not keep up with other people in her class.

The more she thought about her struggle in that area, the farther her bottom lip stuck out from her face. It just was not fair.

Kushina hummed in the kitchen as she prepared their food and was oblivious to the girl's plight.

Arashi stood, arranged the bow in her hair, and threw her nose up in the air. Genjutsu was most often used by shinobi with high intelligence and chakra control – which Arashi had. She was a smart girl with a father that often pushed her to train beyond what was expected of an Academy student and her Sensei knew it. In turn, he often tried to instill a taste for genjutsu in the girl, but she struggled through every assignment with it. Her first instinct was to ask her father for help, but he had been too busy as of late.

She stepped on the notebook and ground her teeth. The girl knew she was never going to be considered the prodigy of her class, but that did not mean she wanted to be mediocre in anything. She wanted to make her father proud.

A clap of thunder shook the home and made her gasp.

She looked toward the window and realized that it was raining. Her thoughts immediately focused on ANBU-san, who for some reason went wherever Kushina was. That detail was odd to her, but she figured it might have something to do with the woman's secret.

She touched the window and watched the raindrops pelt against the glass. Her eyes wandered over to her backpack and she looked at the umbrella that her mother sent with her for the day. She checked to make sure Kushina was busy.

Of course, she knew she was supposed to stay inside, but if she got caught she would just cry and apologize. Crying always worked on adults. Besides, she knew without a doubt that she had a duty to perform.

She grabbed her umbrella and slipped outside.

The boy in the dog mask sighed when he saw the girl emerge from the front door and start on her trek around the building. He took a step back, but kept her in sight. She took a moment to jump in a puddle, but continued walking – toward him. The boy's eyebrows furrowed.

He changed locations and the little girl adjusted her course.

His dark eye narrowed. This was interesting. A child of six years was effectively tracking a member of ANBU while humming a rhyme to herself and waving a pink umbrella around. Out of curiosity he moved to another spot on the building next to Minato and Kushina's home.

The girl clenched her free hand into a fist and spun on her heel to glare up at the other roof, "ANBU-san, either you come down or I'll find a way up!"

Arashi tensed when his presence shifted behind her. When she turned around, she came face to face with the mask.

"How do you do that?" He demanded in a deadpan tone.

Her head tilted to one side, "Do what, ANBU-san?"

"How do you track me?"

"Well," she twirled a strand of hair around her finger, "You're not very good at hiding, silly!"

He stood to his full height and she could feel him glare down at her, "What are you doing out here, anyway?"

"I brought you this."

She held the umbrella out to him.

"No thanks." He pushed her toward the door. "Now go back inside."

She pushed his hand away and narrowed her eyes at him. They stared at each other as lightning flashed in the distance and thunder rolled above them.

"I don't need or want the umbrella."

"ANBU-san, you're going to catch a cold!" she insisted, one hand on her hip.

"No, I'm not." He retorted. "Now go back inside."

She frowned, "Fw-friends don't let f-friends stand out in the rain."

"I'm a Jounin and a member of ANBU. I've been through worse than just a little rain."

Arashi held her umbrella over the boy.

"Go back inside and mind your own business." he ordered in a dry tone.

"No! I'm not going anywhere until you take my umbwe-umbwe-umBRella!"

He was quiet for a few seconds and his stance was tense, "Mahh, you're a very annoying and disobedient kid."

"If you take the umBRella I'll leave you alone."

A compromise.

"Fine." He took the umbrella from her. "Now leave me alone."

"Okay, ANBU-san! Take care and don't catch cold!"

She skipped through puddles and turned her face up toward the sky. The young Jounin's shoulders sagged when she turned out of sight and left him to his solitude in the alleyway. It was just him and a gaudy pink umbrella.

Only went Arashi saw the door in front of her did she consider the magnitude of what she had done. She was a bad girl. Kushina was famed for her temper and her skill as a kunoichi. Shame settled in the girl's stomach like an iron ball when she considered how disappointed the woman was going to be in her for sneaking away and coming back soaked to the bone.

Arashi squared her shoulders and took a step toward the door – just to slip and fall face first toward the ground. She squeezed her eyes shut and braced herself for the impact.

In a flash she was caught up in a pair of arms. Her eyes shot open and she stared in shock. It took a full moment for her to register who it was, but it was unmistakable. It was the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato.

"I guess you're Arashi-chan?" He gently asked her.

She nodded, unable to form words. His chakra felt warm and welcoming, like the first rays of light in the morning.

"You're almost as wet as I am." He chuckled. "My wife is going to be mad at both of us."

Her eyes were now the size of saucers. "Wh-what can we do, Hokage-sama?"

"Pray."

She swallowed over a lump in her throat.

Inside, Kushina realized that Arashi was not in the woman's home. As the Red Hot Habanero rushed toward the door to check outside she had a foreboding feeling that caring for children was, in fact, not going to be easy. In spite of the girl having an innocent air about her and the best pair of puppy eyes Kushina had ever seen, she was also a sneaky opportunist. She made a mental note to not forget that.

She jerked the door open and stared.

Minato was poised with his hand outstretched like he was about to turn the knob and in his other arm he held the girl against his chest. They were both drenched from the rain. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

As always, her temper got the best of her.

Arashi dug her fingers into Minato's flak vest as Kushina's chakra swirled around her. Her red hair circled her like nine long tails and thrashed around.

The man's eyes widened, "My wife is beautiful, don't you think, Arashi-chan?"

"So Pw-pretty!" She chorused. "You're lucky, Hokage-sama!"

Minato sniffed the air, "Is that cake?"

"Of course! Kushina's a genius, after all."

"She is!"

Kushina's hair settled back into place and she crossed her arms over her chest. Normally, flattery would not achieve anything when she was mad, but the sight of a grown man and a little girl conspiring together to avoid her anger was pitiful enough to placate her for the time being.

"You're both still in trouble, y'know!" She stepped to the side to let them in.

Arashi buried her face in the man's shoulder and they breathed a sigh of relief in unison. He carried her inside and set her down on her feet once they were in the bathroom. He retrieved a towel and handed it to the little girl.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama."

"You can just call me Minato when it's the two of us." He ruffled her hair. "Now dry off and maybe we can take a look at the homework you had scattered on the floor?"

"Oh," She hid her face behind the towel, "Uhm, okay."

He left the room with a smile and closed the door behind him on the way out. She only had an hour or so until her mother was supposed to take her home, so she dried off as quickly as she could. She wanted to spend as much time with Minato as possible and she hoped that there would be many more encounters with the Yellow Flash in her future.


	3. Time Passes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is only going to be five chapters long, then I will start another story with Arashi being older. I intended this project to mostly be snippets of her childhood. The next step in her life will highlight her experiences as a Genin and an event or two after she becomes a Chuunin. The third part of her life will include Team 7 and Kakashi and how she pushes her nose into the Naruto universe's affairs. Part 3 (pre-Shippuden) and part 4 (Shippuden) will be much longer and far more in detail. :) This will be a very long project that shows a girl with a relatively normal childhood growing up and coming to terms with being a shinobi, loss, and war.

Chapter 3: Time Passes

"Why do they keep assigning you so much work on genjutsu?"

Arashi looked up at Minato and shrugged. They were both sprawled on their stomachs looking over her homework on the floor. Ithad been roughly a month and a half since she first met Kushina. The woman's pregnancy was now showing more and Arashi could sense another spark of life burning inside her. It was surprisingly strong.

The girl sighed and rested her face on the pile of books and paper in front of her.

"I've been working on a new technique." Minato commented.

She lifted her head and gave him an inquiring look, "What is it?"

"It's called Fun Style Arashi Squealing Storm of Procrastination!"

He hoisted her up into the air and she spread her arms out like she was flying. Minato turned her from side to side and peals of laughter echoed through the living-room. Kushina peered at them from the kitchen and grinned at the sight.

She could not wait to be a mother.

There was a knock at the door. Minato put Arashi down, and went to answer it. The girl pouted at his back, but pouting did not work if the person it was aimed at was looking away.

"Hey, Kakashi. Glad you could join us this evening." Minato greeted.

Arashi blinked, "ANBU-san?"

Instead of wearing his uniform, he was dressed only in a black shirt and a black pair of pants. The bottom half of his face was covered by a mask – Arashi made a mental note to ask why – and he was not particularly tall for his age. One eye was covered by his hitai-ate, his skin was pale, and his hair was silver and shot away from his head in messy spikes.

"My name is Hatake Kakashi, not ANBU-san." He deadpanned.

Arashi tilted her head to one side, "My name's Ran Arashi. Can I still call you ANBU-san?"

He snorted, "Only when I'm on duty and only if I address you first."

Minato and Kushina watched the two interact and gave each other a skeptical look.

Arashi hummed to herself, "Okay, so I call you Kakashi-san when you're not wearing the doggie mask?"

The boy sighed and walked by her.

"Hey!" Arashi spun around. "Why do you wear a mask if you're not on duty?"

"Because I want to."

"Ohhhh." Her mouth formed an O. "It's because you're ugly, isn't it?"

If looks could kill, the teenage boy would have burned a hole through her.

She took a step forward and placed her hand over his heart, "It's okay. Even if you're w-w-really ugly on the outside, you're still beautiful on the inside."

Minato was able to hide most of his amusement. Kushina did not fare as well, but her snickering was mostly ignored.

"Kakashi, why don't you help Arashi with some of her homework while I help Kushina with the food?"

"Yes, Sensei." His eye fell on the pile of books, "What do you need help with?"

She took his hand and pulled him over to her assignments. His hand was dry – painfully dry. Her mother's voice echoed in her mind, if you wash your hands too often the skin will dry out and hurt. She laid on her stomach and pointed at a section in a book. Kakashi sat down with his legs crossed and leaned forward to take a look.

"What do you not understand about this?"

She shrugged, "I think I understand it, but I'm still not good at it."

"What are you good at?"

She glared at him. His calm, but undeniably bored expression remained unchanged.

She looked away and threw her nose up, "I'm good at a lot of stuff. I just don't like genjutsu."

"Work on it to get better."

"I don't want to be good at it. I want to be a medical ninja." She picked up a book of human anatomy and physiology. "I like this stuff! I get it and it makes sense."

"So you want to be like your adoptive father?"

"Shh." She held a finger to her lips.

"Your father," he corrected.

"Mhm. I want to help people."

"That takes excellent chakra control."

She grinned, "I'll be fine."

"Alright, then." He shrugged. "Whatever you say."

"My daddy helps me. He's a really good medical ninja. Very w-respected." She stated matter-of-factly.

"Mhm."

She dug through her pack and pulled out a tube of lotion. The boy flipped through her work and arched an eyebrow when he found notes about fuinjutsu. The Academy covered sealing jutsu up to a point so that the students had a loose understanding of basic things, such as explosive tags, scrolls, and perhaps storage, but this was on another level. Scribbled along the pages in his hands was an understanding of fuinjutsu that most chuunin did not possess.

"You're nosy," Arashi scolded.

"I thought you needed help," he snorted and put the notes down.

The little girl grabbed his wrist and squeezed lotion onto his palm. Kakashi tried to tug his hand out of her grasp, but her grip was a vice. Instead of getting loose, he picked the girl off her feet and held her in the air. She gave him a stern glance. With a sigh he lowered her to the floor and his shoulders sagged in defeat.

She massaged the lotion into both of his hands. Kakashi looked everywhere except at her. Being man handled by a girl half his size was not what he envisioned for his evening.

When she was done she nodded in satisfaction, "There! You shouldn't wash your hands so much." She showed his hand to him, "See? It's really clean."

He shifted in discomfort, "Yeah, whatever."

She closed his hand around the tube of lotion and pushed it to him, "Keep it and use it after you wash your hands. Skin's an organ, so take care of it."

"Um, thank you."

"We're f-friends." She shrugged. "F-friends take care of each other."

"Yeah, friends do."

He ruffled her hair. The bow she always wore came undone and fell on the floor. The girl gasped as if she had been stabbed and her lower lip trembled.

Kakashi sighed, "Don't cry, I'll put it back."

"Okay," she sniffed.

He picked the bow up and the girl turned around. He ran his fingers through her hair and cleared his throat.

"What's taking so long?" Arashi shifted.

"Fine," he tied the bow into her hair.

She went over to her pack and pulled out a mirror. When she saw her reflection, she sneered in disgust. She tried to cover up her reaction with a hum.

"Well," she attempted to correct the bow's position, "I'm not good at some stuff, either."

Kakashi crossed his arms and looked away.

Kushina peeked out at them and went back to cooking. The two adults were eavesdropping on their entire exchange.

"I had no idea that Arashi met Kakashi before." Minato muttered.

"She sneaks out to say hello to him every day she's here." Kushina replied. "She fooled me the first time or two, you know, but now I just let it slip. It's kinda cute."

"Wait, what?" Minato blinked.

"You really thought I wouldn't notice Kakashi following me everywhere?" She sighed. "I'm a ninja, too, ya know."

"Ah. I just thought the added protection would be nice."

"It is." She beamed at her husband. "Thank you."

He placed a hand over their unborn son and smiled back at her.

"I miss her on the days Ookami-san and Naomi-san aren't busy." Kushina sighed. "I watch after her about three days a week, but if they let me I'd probably keep her forever, you know."

"Don't worry. We'll have our son before we know it."

~~~

 

At a later date..

"So, how are your studies, Arashi-chan?" Kushina questioned.

The girl shrugged, "The Academy's boring."

"Do you like studying fuinjutsu with me?"

Her eyes lit up, "Yes."

"Maybe someday you'll get a nickname, y'know? Maybe Arashi of the Fuinjutsu?" She smiled. "That would be pretty cool, y'know."

Arashi hid behind her hair, trying to mask her embarrassment, "I don't know. Maybe."

"Hmm, I could show you some tougher stuff, if you'd like?"

"Yes!"

"Well, alright." She laughed. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

She retreated to another room.

A familiar presence caught Arashi's attention, so with a smile she walked over to the window. She glanced up to make sure Kushina was still busy and then opened it. She stood on the tips of her toes and held it over her head. Kakashi was sitting in a crouch just out of sight.

"Hey!"

Kakashi did not reply, but a shift in his position allowed the two to look at each other.

Arashi huffed under the weight of the window. No matter what she did to it, the pane of glass would not latch, so she was forced to hold it. He watched her for a moment and grunted.

"Why do you sit under this window so much, ANBU-san?"

"Because Kushina-san is usually in this room and I can guard her."

"Why?"

"Because it's my mission."

"Why?"

That's none of your business. Now close the window and behave before you get hurt or something."

The little girl gasped and pulled herself up higher on the window sill with one arm in order to glare at the boy, "You're mean! You shouldn't be mean to your fwends!"

Just as the words left her mouth, so did the window slip from her grasp. The little girl jerked back, but her not fully developed reflexes were not fast enough. The boy's warning echoed in her mind like a prophecy as the window slammed down on her fingers. Her shrill scream rang through the home.

The boy jerked the window open and jumped inside just as Kushina rushed into the room with her arms filled with various scrolls. He gathered the girl against him in one arm and carefully examined her fingers while she sobbed into his chest.

"She's okay. No broken bones."

Kushina dropped everything on the small table and knelt next to the girl.

"I'm sorry for calling you mean!" Arashi wailed through her tears.

The woman regarded Kakashi, "What happened? I was gone for just a minute, y'know!"

"She opened the window, I told her to close it before she got hurt, but obviously she didn't listen."

The woman slapped her forehead, "I meant to fix that months ago, y'know! I still have so much baby proofing to do!"

"It's not your fault." He drawled out before addressing Arashi, "You should listen to your elders."

Arashi's response was to sniffle pathetically.

"Hey, don't keep crying. It's okay, y'know." Kushina wiped the tears off her face. "I have cookies in the kitchen."

The girl blinked and composed herself – mostly. Her lips still trembled, but she was no longer wailing. Kakashi released her, but she wrapped her uninjured pinky around his and pulled him with her into the other room. Kushina hid her grin and put a few cookies on a plate before transporting them to the table for Arashi and Kakashi. She doubted he would eat one, but it was not in her nature to leave him out.

The girl wiped stray tears away and snatched a cookie off the plate, "Thank you Kushina-san."

"Aww, you're welcome."

Kushina turned away and looked at her refrigerator. It was covered in drawings and colored pages that she and Minato had worked on with Arashi. She played with a lock of hair and smiled to herself. Naruto kicked and she ran a hand across her expanding womb. It would not be long until she had her baby.

She sighed.

There was a foreboding in the back of her mind that she could not dismiss. She blamed it on her inexperience as a mother and her fear of birthing pains, but she knew it was something else. Kushina squared her shoulders and looked over at the little girl and Kakashi.

Her life was full of people that she loved and that was more than enough.

"Hey, ANBU-san," Arashi stroked his hand, "Your skin feels better. Do you like the lotion? I'll give you some more soon."

"Just eat your cookies."

Kushina knew all too well how vice-like the girl's grip was. Kakashi was trapped until she chose to let him go.


	4. Of Things to Come

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A glimpse of Arashi's temper is first sighted in this chapter.

Chapter 4: Of Things to Come

Arashi liked most people in general, but not everyone. There were two boys in particular that managed to vex her to the brink of tears.

One was named Aburame Akio. They met the first time when they were five years old and got into an argument over who was going to take a turn on the slide next. Ever since then, Akio had taken a liking to using the bugs that lived inside his body to bully her into submission. It humiliated the girl so badly that she shed tears every time and because of that he referred to her as Crybaby.

The other was named Kurama Daisuke. Overall, he was not hard to deal with. Most of the time he was content playing with other people or painting in his spare time, but sometimes he went out of his way to tease Arashi. Not even that would have been unbearable for her, but he liked to paint on her arms and back when she was not paying attention. She went out of her way to take care of her clothes and made sure that her appearance was impeccable – something her mother instilled in her. The paint stained her clothes and was hard to scrub off her skin and that not only left Arashi upset, but it also made her mother angry.

When her mother was angry, no one was happy.

Arashi had the day to herself. Her parents gave her permission to play and after getting lost for a while and correcting her course, she found her way to the playground. She was elated. Her studies were going well, she was learning and becoming stronger, and her mother was finally giving her more freedom around the village, despite her direction impairment.

Life was great for her.

She entered the playground with a skip in her step. Her pack bounced against her back and the contents inside clicked together in an upbeat rhythm. She was going to go straight to the swing set and swing until she was sick of it. It was her favorite thing to do.

She was almost to the swing when she felt a signature she knew all too well. Akio. She could never confuse him with anyone else that often came to play. His body was full of insects and they each had their own chakra pool, even if theirs was miniscule. Most people were put off by the Aburame clan, but she could sense the insects moving inside their bodies and that made her skin crawl. At least most people did not have to deal with that.

Despair washed through her. Arashi turned on her heel to walk back the way she came. It was hot outside and she needed to study, anyway. By the time she was done, Akio would probably be gone.

"Hey, Shi-Shi-chan!"

She froze and looked over her shoulder at Daisuke. She hated it when he called her that.

"Aren't you going to stay and play?" The boy asked, holding paper and paintbrushes against his chest. "I'll let you play with my paint."

"Not r-right now." She eyed him, suspiciously. "I need to study."

"That's all you ever do." He crinkled his nose. "You just like looking at naked bodies."

Her mouth fell open, "Nu uh! It's anatomy."

"You're a bad liar, Shi-Shi-chan."

Her face burned and she marched away. Her lips trembled and she clenched her fists into balls by her sides. Daisuke was manipulative and Akio was a bully. This was the first time in weeks she had tried to have fun and they had to be there.

It was not fair.

The little girl adjusted the straps of her backpack and continued walking. When she was a ninja she would no longer put up with stupid boys. She would be too busy helping people and doing important stuff.

She marched until her eyes fell on the entrance to a library. She had been there many times and knew that they had a lot of medical textbooks. With a shrug of her slim shoulders, she entered the building.

It was cool enough inside to make her regret wearing shorts that day, but she pushed that thought to the back of her mind and started browsing through the book selections. A lot of the medical textbooks were advanced, but she liked the challenge, so after several minutes she decided on a few to look through.

Most of the tables were already occupied by adults, but one table to the side had only one occupant – a young boy. The decision should have been simple, but Arashi had terrible luck with boys around her age.

She pursed her lips. She could sit with the boy or slide in between a group of adults. Everyone appeared busy reading, so she doubted they would take much notice of her, but she felt uncomfortable. With a hum she focused on their signatures. No one in the room felt malicious in any way – but one in particular stuck out to her.

He burned like a flame and the space around him exuded a patience she had never encountered in anyone else. He felt kind. Not even Minato felt as welcoming as this person. It resonated with her and before she knew it, her feet had taken her over to the person that possessed the lovely signature.

It was the boy.

He stopped reading to look over his shoulder at her. Even if he had not been wearing a gray shirt with the telltale fan on the back, she would have guessed he was an Uchiha. His skin was pale, his hair was black, and he watched her with gentle, dark eyes.

"Um, can I sit with you?" She tried to hide behind her hair.

"Yes."

She went to the other side of the table and put the medical books down. After several minutes of reading, she peeked up at the boy. He was engrossed in his own literature. The librarian walked by the table and arched an eyebrow at the children. The books surrounding them were altogether too thick, too dry of a read, and too tedious for their age group. Her lips thinned into a bemused line and she went about her own business.

Curiosity got the best of Arashi, "What are you w-w-reading?"

"History." He replied without looking up.

"There's a lot of histowy," she whispered, "Who or what are you w-reading about?"

"The clans that founded the village."

"Oh, uh," She blinked, "Like the Senju and Uchiha?"

He nodded and his lips curved upward, "Do you like reading about history?"

"I like other things better," she swallowed over a lump in her throat, "B-but I'd like," she paused, "I'd like to learn more."

"I can help you." He motioned for her to sit beside him.

Arashi abandoned her medical texts and slid into the seat beside the boy. He pointed to a few names in the book and whispered to her everything he knew about them. She tried to remember as much as she could about what he told her, but it was hard to keep up with all of the information he had memorized.

She started to wonder if he would ever stop talking. She had not thought he would be the talkative type, but then again, her mother always said the quiet ones have the most to talk about, it's just getting them to open up that's the challenge. It was okay with her if he wanted to talk all day, though. She liked being near him.

Her stomach growled and the boy went quiet. A few adults looked over at her. Arashi covered her face with her hands in embarrassment. The Uchiha's eyes darted around and then he produced a rice ball from the bag by his side. He was sure to keep it out of sight, since no food or drinks were allowed inside.

"Do you want to share my onigiri?" he whispered.

She nodded. He pinched off a part of the rice and put it in her hand. Conspiratorially, a smile spread across her face. Both of the children watched the adults around them and snuck bites of food – appearing to be the epitome of innocence the entire time.

"How old are you?" Arashi whispered.

"Five." He replied. "My birthday was a few weeks ago."

"Oh. I'm six." She informed him. "I'm in the Academy. Are you going to be a ninja?"

He nodded, "Father is going to enroll me."

"It's mostly boring." She shrugged. "You'll pw-probably be top of your class. I heard the Uchiha usually do really good."

"Why do you want to be a ninja?"

"I want to help people." She swung her feet under the table. "I noticed a lot of people never came back from the war. It makes me sad, so, I, uh, I want to learn to be a medic to help."

An expression of understanding crossed his face before it faded back into being passive, "But you'll have to hurt people, too."

"Yeah, I guess so," she shrugged, "But if it means saving my fw-fw-fwends, then I'll do whatever it takes."

"Ahh," his lips curved upward again, "My little brother will be born soon. I want to protect him." He ran his fingers across the pages in front of him. "So much bad can happen."

"M-maybe," she twisted a lock of her hair around her finger, "Maybe we can both look after him together? What's his name going to be?"

The boy's lips parted into a smile, "Sasuke."

"I like that name," she whispered. "Hey, do you want some juice? I have some in a canteen."

He thought for a few seconds and nodded. Both of the children had, of course, been told to not eat or drink after others, but an exception was made that day. Arashi fished it out of her pack while no one was looking and passed it to the boy under the table. He took a sip and passed it back to her.

"You've got paint on your back," a laugh found its way out of him.

Arashi's face scrunched up and she looked over her shoulder, "No way. When did he?" Her lips trembled. "Not fair."

He tilted his head to one side, "Someone put paint on you?"

"He's stupid and mean." She pouted. "I try to be nice, but he doesn't listen and he doesn't care that I don't like it."

"From what I read, sometimes you can't always not fight."

She blinked and looked at him. He was watching her with an awareness that did not suit someone his age.

"Yeah," she bit her lip and changed the subject, "You going to tell me more about Konoha's awchi-architecture?"

He grinned. For a long time after that she listened to him ramble about Konoha and many of its more notable citizens and buildings. She did not keep up with all of it, but the sound of his voice soothed her. There was no doubt in her mind that he was a very, very special person.

When it came time for him to go home she resisted the urge to pout.

He gave her an apologetic look, "We can see each other again."

"Okies." She perked up at that thought. "Hey? Are we f-friends?"

"If you wanna be."

"Yes!" She bounced up and down, "My name's Ran Arashi. What's yours?"

"Uchiha Itachi."

"I'll see you later, Itachi-kun!" She hugged him.

He squeezed her back and the librarian let out an audible, "Aww."

"Okay, Arashi-chan."

They grinned at each other and Arashi skipped out of the library. She shouldered her pack again and turned her attention to finding the playground again. She had spent hours in the library and she was determined to enjoy the day in her own way. There was no telling how long it would be before her parents let her go out on her own again.

This time it was not as hard to find her way back. The heat of the day had faded, but it was still warm enough to feel nice on her bare legs. The library had been too cold for her liking. Once again, her pack bounced against her in an upbeat rhythm.

"Shi-Shi-chan! You're back!" Daisuke waved at her.

He was sprawled on the ground under a tree in order to enjoy the shade. She ground her teeth. He always acted nice like he wanted to be her friend, but then he would ruin her clothes and make her walk around looking like an idiot. She squared her shoulders.

She had a plan.

His eyes glinted with amusement as she walked over and sat on the ground in front of him, "Do you wanna paint with me?"

"Mhm."

"Do you like these colors?" He pushed a few tubes of paint toward her.

She picked them up and examined them, her lips pursed, "Do you have any others?"

When he turned his head she scribbled tiny seals on the bottom of the red and purple tubes. It took all of her self-control to smother the smile that tugged at her lips, but she managed by the time Daisuke turned back to her with other colors.

"Do you like these? I thought you'd like the purple or red. You wear those colors a lot." He muttered. "Or does your mommy make you wear them?"

She smiled. It was a barb and she knew it. Arashi was proud to choose her own clothing and dress herself every day. She was not half as helpless as Daisuke treated her.

"No, silly. I like those colors, but I want to paint with others."

"Okay."

They painted together for a while, but she paid little attention to what she was doing. Daisuke muttered a complaint or two under his breath, but she ignored it. He was critical of anyone who painted with him, but he hated being alone. She could have considered him a friend if he had not been the murderer of more than a few sets of her clothes.

"There! All done." Daisuke announced.

Arashi crinkled her nose at their project, "It looks bad."

"Not my fault." Daisuke sniffed.

"Well," Arashi stood, "I'm going to go swing before I have to go home."

The boy shrugged, already disinterested, "Alright."

As soon as she felt the chains in her hands, her stomach did a flip. She always swung as high as she could in order to feel like she was flying. For just a while she could feel like she was free from everything going on in her life – albeit there was nothing bad for her, but she could forget about genjutsu and the fact that she was still too short to reach most things. When she closed her eyes and focused on the lives around her it was like she was soaring through a constellation.

The stars around her fizzled out when she opened her eyes and looked down to see Akio watching her. She scowled. Even though he wore sunglasses, she knew he was looking at her. It made her skin crawl.

She hoped he would leave her alone.

Instead, he reached out, grabbed the swing, and jerked her to a stop. The force sent her flying forward. Unable to do anything, she landed on her hands and knees. The impact shredded the skin from her legs and her ears rang. At first she was in shock, but within seconds the reality of her situation settled like the dust around her. The playground went completely silent.

Her breath hitched in her throat.

Sometimes, you can't always not fight.

Bugs swarmed her body.

Can't always not fight.

"Crybaby."

Fight.

Her body tingled as she stood. All of her senses came into focus at once. The Kikaichu that would have normally made her stomach tie itself into knots only added kindling to the rage building inside of her. They crawled inside her clothing, through her hair, and clung to her face. They were taunting her, telling her to run away. She took one deep breath.

Instead, she twisted and threw her entire body into a punch that caught the Aburame in the teeth and floored him.

She jumped on top of the boy while he was stunned and delivered a flurry of punches. A group of children gathered around and watched in disbelief.

"I'm not scared of you! I'm not! I'm not, you know!"

"Shi-Shi-chan! Stop!" Daisuke yelled.

Her eyes flicked to him, "You."

Her hands formed a seal and the trap she set before was sprung. The red and purple tubes blew up in his arms and splattered Daisuke and the crowd around him with paint.

Akio tried to get up, but was met with another fist. Her mind did not even register that the skin covering her knuckles had been split open or that the red on his skin was her blood. His glasses fell off his face to reveal bugs crawling out of his eye sockets.

"You freak! Freak!" She shrieked. "I hate you!"

She crushed the bugs on her cheeks in her fists and smeared them across the boy's face. Every beetle that she saw coming out of him to swarm her she destroyed with a well-aimed smack. She ripped them out them out of her hair, and clawed at the ones on her shirt. The feeling of crushing them brought a rush of bloodlust the little girl had never experienced in her life.

An arm circled her waist. She knotted her fingers into Akio's hair and when the person pulled her back, she ripped a tuft out of the boy's scalp.

Her attention snapped to the person responsible for getting between her and her vengeance. It was Kakashi. He was in his casual attire and there was a stern crease between his eyes.

His hand closed around hers and he led her away from the playground.

"Don't tell my mommy or daddy," she whispered.

One dark eye settled on her. The girl's eyes normally danced in amusement, but they were now staring straight ahead and cold. Her shoulders were squared, her free hand was clenched, and her breathing was even. Instead of a grin her lips were drawn into a thin line, like there was a bad taste in her mouth.

She had beaten a boy senseless and scattered an entire crowd like a hurricane. For the first time since meeting her, he saw not just a little girl, but a kunoichi. Not that going on a rage induced rampage was acceptable.

"Why were you in the playground?" She asked in a hoarse voice, off-handedly.

Shrieking like a banshee tended to make a person's throat raw.

"I was in a tree reading." He deadpanned.

"Why?"

"I was avoiding someone."

"Why?"

"He's annoying."

She accepted that answer, "Are you going to tell on me?"

"No."

She nodded and continued to stare ahead, "Was I bad? Did I do a bad thing?"

"What do you think?"

"I think he deserved it."

"He did."

"Where are we going?"

The boy sighed, "I'm going to clean you up and take you home."

They walked for a while before he led her into a small apartment. He sat her down on a chair, poured water into a glass and handed it to her. She emptied the glass in several gulps and held it close to her chest. Kakashi expected her to be shaking by this point, but she was inert. He dabbed away the blood covering her legs and glanced up to gauge her reaction.

The grip on the glass was tighter, but she was otherwise unresponsive.

"I'm going to disinfect it now." He informed her. "Put the glass down or you might break it."

She put the glass on the floor and clutched the edges of her seat. After several moments of her face being scrunched up and hisses sliding through her teeth, the deed was done and Kakashi was wrapping bandages around her legs.

"Thank you Kakashi-san."

He glanced up at the shell-shocked girl, "No problem, but you might want to get rid of that boy's hair or your parents might wonder."

She looked down at the dark strands in her hand and blanched.

The walk back to her home was quiet. She held onto his hand with the same vice grip, but this time she was no longer carrying evidence of her fight.

~~~~~

 

Red Threads of Fate

"And that's how I met Minato and fell in love with him." Kushina finished her story.

Arashi's eyes were bright, "All because of your pw-pw-pretty hair!"

Kushina giggled, "I guess so. Red threads of fate."

The girl's head fell to one side, "Huh?"

"Oh, y'know, every person has a red thread connecting them to the person they're supposed to be with. Hasn't your mother told you about it?"

Arashi shook her head, "Do I have a thread?"

"Everyone does."

"How can I tell? Wh-who am I supposed to be with?" Her expression shifted to horror. "What if he's nasty?"

"Hey, it'll be alright, y'know!"

The girl chewed on her lip, "If you say so."

Kushina laughed, "I say so, y'know." Her eyes widened and her hands went to her womb. "He's kicking. This child is so energetic I don't know if I'll be able to keep up with him."

Arashi's hands found their way next to Kushina's and her brown eyes grew to the size of saucers, "Does it hurt?"

"Not really." She leaned toward the girl, "You know you'll have to help me look after him when he gets a bit older."

"Like a big sister?"

"Just like a big sister."

"I'll pw-protect you, teach you, and help you with everything," the girl whispered. "I hope I grow up to be like your mommy and marry someone like your daddy. You're a lucky baby, Naruto."

To say that Kushina was flattered would have been an understatement, but the nagging feeling in the back of her mind had not eased. The closer she came to her delivery, the worse it was – and she was getting very close. It was like there was a premonition hanging over her and she had a hard time rationalizing it.

"You know, people used to give strands of hair to friends and loved ones." Kushina commented.

"W-W-Really?"

"Yes, really." She separated a small section of her hair and began to braid it together.

"Why?"

"To show affection or to give them something to remember them by if they ever, um, went to heaven. It was an old tradition."

"Ohh."

Once Kushina was done braiding the strands together, she went into another room and came back with the tiny braid in her hand, "So, I thought maybe I'd share mine with you."

The girl accepted the hair, "Nothing bad's gonna happen to you, right?"

"Of course not!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Old Light**

**September 15**

Arashi was excited. She fussed over a wrapped box and re-adjusted the bow. It was heavy enough that she could not carry it by herself. She smoothed out her clothing, checked the ribbon in her hair and pinched her cheeks until they were the right shade of pink. The smell of miso and eggplant wafted out of the kitchen.

It was Kakashi's birthday.

The little girl was ecstatic to have a reason to give her friend some gifts. Her eyes searched the box for any imperfection – it had to be perfect – she would accept no less for a companion. She was almost as excited for his birthday as she would have been for her own. She intended to pay him back for the kindness he showed her on the day of her fight, as well as for not ratting her out. Her parents found out, regardless, but a tearful explanation later they dropped it.

Arashi returned to the kitchen to help Kushina with the food, even though she was not of much help. She paid attention to how the woman prepared everything, with the thought that she could make this for her friend in the future once she was older. Kushina hummed to herself as she moved around the kitchen and checked the time.

The little girl tugged at the woman's apron strings, "How long until they're here?"

"Very soon! Any time, you kn-" She cut herself off. "Mm, I need to break that verbal tic."

"What's a verbal tic?"

"Well, uh, _you know_."

"You know!" Arashi chirruped.

The woman glared halfheartedly, "Now you're making fun of me."

Arashi chose that time to become interested in a spot on the floor. Kushina put both of her hands on her hips and waited. The girl hugged herself and peered up at the woman through her eyelashes.

"I think you're perfect the way you aw-are."

"Huh? Really?" The woman backtracked. "I'm so not-"

"You're my hero!" The girl declared. "Pw-pretty, smart, stw-strong – you're like the best kunoichi ever!"

The woman's eyes narrowed into slits, despite the blush on her face, "And you're the most manipulative kid I've ever met."

Arashi covered her heart and gasped.

"Oh, just can't handle the accusations, huh?"

The sound of the door opening and closing made Arashi forget about her ruse. The two scurried out of the kitchen and to the living room with matching grins on their faces. Minato picked the girl up, which earned a squeal, and then set her down to greet his wife. Kakashi stood next to the door with a hand in his pocket.

Arashi rushed over to him and took his free hand in both of hers. His eyebrows quirked, but he did not resist – there really was no point in it when dealing with the girl. She petted his hand and noted that it was still softer than it had been after she gave him lotion for the first time.

"Are you going to stare at my hand all evening or are you going to let me go?" He deadpanned.

"You're so silly." She huffed.

She led him over to the gift she had spent all evening fussing over. He looked at it, then Arashi, then Kushina and Minato, then finally back at the girl.

"Happy Birthday!" They chorused together.

His body stiffened.

"Open the one from me first!" Arashi tugged him onto the floor.

He gave her a skeptical look, but obliged. He untied the bow with a snort – she loved bows – and tore the paper away from the box. Arashi was almost vibrating with anticipation. When he pulled the top off the package he blinked.

It was packed full of various gifts.

"Mommy and daddy said I had too many ideas, so I had to limit myself to one box, so I put as much as I could in this one!" She explained in a rush.

He pulled out several tubes of lotion and set them to the side. The girl's fixation with his hands was odd, but she was a bizarre individual and he chose to not address it.

"I thought you'd need more." She explained.

"Err, yeah. Thanks."

The next thing he pulled out was a field medical kit. It had sutures, bandages, gauze, plasma pills, and an assortment of ointments and disinfectants. This was something that could be useful in the future.

"My daddy said that was a good kit." She watched his expression like a hawk.

"It is." He set it to the side. "Good job."

Next he found a set of body wash and shampoo.

"Do I stink?" He muttered.

Her eyes went wide, "No! Mommy has a store with all kinds of stuff. Makeup, lotion, stuff for hair, and soaps, and all kinds of stuff!"

"Alright."

His attention returned to the box and he fished out several combs, brushes, and a large supply of hair gel.

"Are you saying something about my hair?"

Her face was blank, "No." She was quiet for a moment, "Do you brush it?"

"Of course I do." He hissed.

"Aw-are you sure?"

Kakashi scowled through his mask. He held up a comb and tried to run it through his hair – _tried_ – but it got caught. The girl's expression remained blank, but the glint in her eyes was enough to rub salt all over his injured pride. After he managed to pull it out, he set it to the side and dug the last item out of the box. It was a book.

"Mommy says it's the first one in a w-w-really good action series. She says everyone should w-read it." She rambled. "You said you were w-reading in the playground, so I thought you'd like it." She crinkled her nose. "But the name is so stupid. _Ninja Island_?"

His expression softened.

She threw her arms around him and buried her face in his shoulder, "I hope you like everything!"

Kakashi looked at the assortment and sighed. He doubted he would be able to fit everything back into the box. It was a wonder she managed in the first place.

He gave her a stiff squeeze, "Yeah. Thanks for everything."

The girl released him and went over to hide behind Kushina and Minato.

* * *

**Old Light**

"C'mon, mommy!"

Arashi grabbed her mother's hand and pulled her into a faster walk. Naomi adjusted the purse under her arm and the clicks of her heels increased with their pace. She was a woman of average height and build. Her face was round, her hair was brown, her eyes were like honey, and her skin was lightly tanned. Her clothes were expensive, well-coordinated, and her makeup was tastefully done. Altogether, she and the girl looked similar enough that most would never realize that Arashi was adopted.

"Hurry, mommy! We're going to miss them!"

"I'm hurrying, baby!" The woman gasped out. "These shoes are hard to run in!"

Arashi looked over her shoulder at her father, "Daddy! You might have to carry mommy!"

The Jounin laughed and plucked the girl off the ground. Naomi breathed a sigh of relief and slowed her pace.

_"_ _Daddy!_ " She protested, "We're going to be late!"

"No, we're not, sweetie. We'll get to see our friends before their baby comes." He assured her.

She pouted and hung in his arms like a rag doll. Being tiny was a disadvantage in times like these.

-page break

"Look at you! You're ready to pop!" Naomi cooed. "Oh, Kushina-san, if I could bottle the glow you have, I'd be a rich woman!"

Kushina laughed, flustered, "I'm just ready for my baby to be here, but I'm kinda nervous."

"You'll be fine, dear." Naomi placed a hand on her shoulder. "Stay strong, Minato-sama looks like he's looking at a ghost."

The Yellow Flash scratched the back of his head, "H-hey, I'm just a little restless."

"Daddy, put me down!" Arashi wriggled.

Ookami chuckled and looked over toward Minato. His daughter was vibrating in excitement. The Hokage held his arms out and the medical ninja handed his girl over. Arashi wrapped her arms around his neck and closed her eyes to enjoy his warm chakra.

"I'm going to miss you!" She mumbled into his flak vest. "I know you're gonna be too busy for a while to see me, but I'll be extw-tra good and work w-really hard in my studies, so when Naw-Naruto needs help, I'll be able to be there for him!"

Minato squeezed her, "I'm going to miss you, too, but I'll be sure to make time to check up on you. Naruto will be happy to have you for a friend in the future, I'm sure of it."

Kushina stepped over and tucked some of the girl's hair behind her ear, "Me and Minato decided that since we might not have a lot of time to work with you until Naruto's a little older that we'd put some stuff together for you to work on."

Her eyes widened, "Fuinjutsu homework?"

"Well, not homework exactly!" Kushina laughed. "You don't _have_ to work on it."

"Ohhh." She grinned. "I will, anyway. It's much cooler than stuff the academy goes over."

Minato placed her on the ground and produced a stack of papers and scrolls, "This is enough to hold you over for several months, including introductions to things that we haven't gotten to yet. We made sure to keep it simple so that you shouldn't get lost while studying."

The girl's eyes widened and she bounced up and down, "Yay! I'll be like Kushina-san with her fuinjutsu someday!"

All four of the adults exchanged looks and smothered smiles. Naomi accepted the documents with a whispered thanks.

"Oh, but where's Kakashi-san?" Arashi tilted her head to one side. "I wanted to see him, too."

"Ahh, I gave Kakashi the day off." Minato explained.

"Ohh." She pouted.

Ookami pinched her cheek, "If you keep pouting your face will get stuck that way."

"Does that mean people will give me stuff forever without me tw-tw-trying?" She perked up.

Naomi covered her face and broke down in laughter, "I've made a monster!"

Arashi crinkled her nose, "Nu uh. Monsters are ugly. Are you calling me ugly, mommy?"

Naomi peeked through her fingers at the girl, "Of course not. You're a beautiful flower."

Placated, Arashi focused on the red headed woman again. She placed her hands on the womb and placed her ear against it.

"I look fow-forward to meeting you, Naruto. I'll always look after you, I pw-promise. You're going to be really special!"

"What does he feel like?" Ookami watched his daughter.

"He's very bwight!" She chirped. "And, um, he feels w-really, really nice. He feels kinda like both Minato-san and Kushina-san, but different."

"Ahh," Ookami crossed his arms. "What does his affinity feel like?"

She gave him a bewildered look.

"Don't you remember what I told you about signatures and affinities?" He urged.

"Oh! Yeah! But they're different, w-right? And, um, some people don't have one without working w-really hard?"

"That's right." Her father nodded. "Does he have a natural affinity already?"

She focused on the boy and her eyebrows knit together. "He feels kinda light and wooshy."

Naomi pursed her lips, "You mean like wind?"

"Yeah!" She nodded. "His changes a lot from being soft to being really wild when he's kicking."

Kushina gave Minato a look that clearly said: I told you the girl's a sensor type. The Yellow Flash shrugged and nodded his head in acceptance.

Ookami continued, "What does your affinity feel like?"

"Um, like Naruto's, but," she threw her arms out, "mine's fabulous!"

"Uh, yeah." Ookami choked out. "That's my little kunoichi."

The girl's chest swelled out with pride.

"Well," Naomi looked at the time. "I guess we should be going so you can get ready for the rest of your lives, huh? Your son is going to be so beautiful."

"Okay, I'll say goodbye, but I wanna see Naruto as soon as possible!" Arashi threw her stern look around the room.

"Alright, alright, we have accepted your terms and demands," Ookami managed to sound serious.

Arashi and Kushina kissed each other's cheeks. Minato knelt down and the girl jumped into his arms for a tight hug before he kissed her forehead and she pulled away with a loud giggle.

"I love you both, Kushina-san, Minato-san." Arashi declared.

"You're going to see them tomorrow, sweet heart. It's not the end of the world." Naomi sighed.

"We love you, too." Minato ruffled her hair.

Kushina's grin spanned from one ear to the other, "Tomorrow comes quick, y'know!"

* * *

"Oh, sweetie, it's late," Naomi looked up at the full moon. "We'll have to go home soon."

Arashi walked by her mother's side with a bag in her hand. To help distract the girl from her excitement of Naruto being born her mother had taken her shopping. The girl chewed on her lips and looked down at her feet. Something was not sitting well with her. It was like something dark was settling over the village and it left a bad taste in her mouth.

"What is it, Arashi?" Her mother frowned.

"It's noth-"

A roar shook the village.

The world stood still for Arashi in the next few moments. Her ears rang like bells from the force and volume of the noise. Everyone in the street began to panic and look around at once. Her mother's grip loosened around her hand just as the bag Arashi was carrying in the other fell to the ground.

Arashi's blood ran cold in her veins.

The secret – Kushina's secret – was out. Arashi's senses were on fire. Rage washed over her; a rage that did not belong to her, but instead to the demon loose in her village. Another shriek from the beast echoed through the night and the sound of buildings shattering made her knees weak.

Naomi tore the high heels from her feet and grabbed her child by the arm. Her eyes danced in terror, but there was a determined crease lining her forehead.

"Baby, come on. I'll keep you safe," the woman yelled over the screams. "Come on, my baby! Don't look at it!"

Arashi let her mother pull her into a run. Her short legs could hardly keep up and her mind was foggy. It was like all of her thoughts were trying to swim through tar. She focused on her mother and for the first time in her life she was devastated that this person was not truly her blood.

Naomi gasped, "Mikoto's sons!"

Arashi's attention snapped up to whom she was referring to and realization dawned on her. Itachi was running in the crowd with them. An infant, Sasuke, was in his arms. Mother and daughter pressed through the people until they were next to the boys.

"Itachi-kun!" Arashi yelled.

His dark eyes snapped to her.

"Itachi, sweetie, let me carry your brother," Naomi called to him.

The boy gave her a look that startled both the woman and Arashi. It was clear that he would sooner take her arms off than relinquish the child in his grasp. Naomi nodded and moved in position so that she could keep any adults from pushing into him. A fall would kill the infant and she knew it.

Arashi's limbs felt like noodles. She could sense the shinobi forming groups and circling the Kyuubi. The ground kept shaking under her feet and the sparks of many people were being snuffed out. It was worse than any nightmare.

Members of the Uchiha clan started to appear and direct the crowd's escape, but the terror did not lessen. Sasuke began to wail, despite his brother's attempts to soothe him.

"It's okay, Sasuke." He looked down at the infant, fondly. "I'll protect you." His lips tugged into a half smile. "My friend, Arashi-chan, will help, too, so there's no reason to be scared."

She reached out and touched his shoulder, trying with all of her might to refocus on his gentleness, but there was too much devastation.

Arashi tried to find Minato and Kushina's signatures. She could feel his, but the woman's was weak and she was not entirely sure it was even hers. Kushina had never felt less than exuberant and strong, but now it was like she was hanging on by the force of her will.

She was not sure how long they had been running. Their route had to change several times because of the damage done to the village. The jigsaw puzzle that she loved had been torn apart with her still in it.

Then, all at once, the ground stopped shaking and the evil presence was gone. Arashi's eyebrows knit together. Before she could be relieved, she had to know if her friends were alright. She closed her eyes and reached out to find them. Her heart skipped a beat in happiness to feel the Hokage's presence and even Kushina's, albeit even weaker – but there was something with them that was almost as bad as the demon. Arashi's throat tightened.

Minato's signature disappeared.

In disbelief, she let her mother lead her. She looked around at the people, unable to believe what had just happened. She hoped with all of her strength that she was wrong – that she had somehow confused him with someone else.

Then Kushina's signature disappeared.

A strangled cry made its way out of her throat. Her body went numb and she stumbled. Her mother grasped after her, but the mass of people pushed them on. Itachi's eyes met hers for a brief second and they both knew that she was going to be trampled and there was nothing the boy or her mother could do about it.

In a blur, a man snatched her off the ground and separated from the people. If she had been in her right mind, she would have recognized him as the leader of the Police Force, but all that mattered to her in that moment was that there was a pair of arms holding her. He regarded her with stern, black eyes as he looked over her for any injuries and frowned. The girl in his arms was fine, physically, but was clearly in shock.

"Were you with a relative?" He asked, turning his attention back to watching the refugees.

She rested her head against his chest as she choked on a sob. He resigned himself to carrying her while directing the civilians.

"Minato and Kushina are dead," she choked out.

He gave her a skeptical look, "How do you know?"

"I-I," she clutched his vest in her hands until her knuckles were white. "I felt it."

"I see."

The man adjusted his grip on her and remained silent.

When she closed her eyes, the constellation around her was noticeably dimmer. Like stars Minato and Kushina would stand out in her mind until she drew her last breath. It left a bittersweet taste in her mouth. All she had left were memories; they were just old light now – wonderful, beautiful, brilliant – but now their flames had been extinguished. They were precious to her and now they were dead.

* * *

The entire village turned out dressed in black to mourn the loss of many loved ones. Arashi walked between her parents. She held them by the hand with her vice-like grip, determined to not lose them. They were all she had and she was terrified that she would someday _feel_ the life leave them.

The Third Hokage stepped up to fill the position again. Speeches were made, people wept, and memories were shared between them – but it all felt too surreal to her. She could feel Kakashi nearby, but that only comforted her a little.

She had never hated herself before, but now she felt the pricks of self-loathing settle in. She had not been able to help a single person. Her father was exhausted from working around the clock to help the wounded, her mother had opened up their home to refugees and had dedicated herself to helping those in need, but Arashi had done nothing but run and cry. She felt useless.

She wiped at a stray tear as her parents led her away. There was much work to be done to restore their village. All she wanted to do was find Naruto, but she was told it would have to wait.

"Arashi-chan?" Itachi called out to her.

She released her parents and turned to regard her friend. His parents stood behind him and she realized with a jolt that the man that helped her the night before was Itachi's father. Mikoto held Sasuke and watched with a pensive expression as her eldest son approached Arashi.

The little girl threw her arms around him and they clung to each other, wordlessly.

Fugaku gave them a flippant look. His heir, the boy that would one day lead the Uchiha, was hugging it out with an adopted girl from an undisclosed family. Ookami exchanged a nod with him and they busted their kids up in order to go their own way.

(page break)

Arashi shouldered her pack and walked through the streets on her way to the Academy. She tried to not notice how different certain parts of the village were now. It was still her jigsaw puzzle, these people were still the sparks that danced around her, and life continued. She tried to not focus on those who were not continuing with her.

It had been a week since the Kyuubi's attack. Classes had resumed and Arashi dedicated herself to her studies, full-heartedly. She was going to be stronger. Naruto was now carrying the demon and Arashi knew he would need her help more than ever now that his parents were dead. The first step she had to take was graduating.

Kakashi's presence caught her attention.

Her feet turned in his direction. She had not seen him since the funeral, but it had been even longer since she had last spoken to him. Her lips trembled, so she bit them until they stopped. She needed to be stronger.

When she found him, he gave her an empty glance and continued walking.

"Kakashi-san, wait!"

He did not even look at her. She huffed and grabbed his hand. To her dismay the skin was drier than they had ever been before.

"Your hands," she muttered.

"So what?" He glared down at her. "Why does it matter if my hands are dry? Will it matter how unhealthy my skin is when I'm dead?"

Her mouth fell open, "B-but."

"No. It won't matter. I'm a ninja. I'll serve this country until I die. The state of my hands does not matter as long as I can still use jutsu and weapons. Now mind your business."

"We're friends." She squared her stance. "And it matters to me."

"I'm not your friend." He snapped. "Now let go of me."

She stared at him; her expression brittle like one more word would shatter her already broken heart into even smaller pieces. Her entire world had fallen apart around her. He glowered down at her and tried to tug his hand away.

"I'll always be your friend." She whispered. "I pw-promised."

When she released him he walked away. Arashi watched him go until he was out of sight.

**End**


End file.
